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By Clay Johnson
For those who don’t know, the Melges 15 Nationals concluded last month at Brant Beach Yacht Club. Nine races were sailed over three days in most light air; I think 8/9 races were held in 6 knots or less. Chris Alexander and Madeline Baldridge absolutely demolished the competition. It was incredible. For the past month, I feel like I’ve been asked repeatedly how they did it. Below is my take on why these guys won so convincingly
1) First of all, Chris and Madeline are both fantastic sailors. You don’t win a regatta of this caliber if you aren’t very good. These guys know the sport, know the boat, and sailed really well. They are a really good size for the boat in the conditions we had (about 290 pounds, according to Chris).
2) The next thing that really stood out to me was Chris’s downwind technique. Madeline was really far forward, even with the mast. Chris was standing up in the boat on the downwind. I haven’t really seen people stand up in a dinghy for extended periods of time downwind, but Chris said that it was more comfortable, allowed him to see the course/pressure better, and he could balance his weight well to maintain the proper heel angle. It was funny to see Chris’s technique get copied by more and more sailors as the regatta went on, all hoping for even a little bit of his speed!
3) The other thing that stood out to me was that Chris and Madeline were way looser on their tuning than everyone else. Chris comes from a VX One background where they sail with much looser tension. When he first got the Melges 15, he started with the Melges tuning guide. But as he sailed more and more, he started to experiment and tried things that worked in other boats. And he was fast! I had two long line ups with Chris in races, and in both cases he was always just a little faster and a little higher. Speed can kill.
I think the take-away here, whether you’re a Melges 15 sailor sail another type of boat, is that when you first start you want to copy the best sailors in the fleet or follow the tuning guide. But as you sail more and get a better feel for the boat, it’s ok to branch off and try some new things if they feel good to you. I know I personally need to be better at experimenting away from the textbook in search of some more speed.
4) Chris’s starts were pretty conservative too, and I think that was a result of knowing that he was fast. He was never exactly at an end because often time 1-2 boats got away looking great, but the other 5-10 boats all had bad starts. Instead, Chris positioned himself about 15ish boats up from the favored end and focused on having a good conservative start. He wouldn’t win it, but he guaranteed himself of being in the top group.
5) Following his starts, Chris would play his side of the course well. If his side came in, he’d be in the top few at the weather mark. But even if the other side was a little better, Chris was never out of the race. He did a great job of always passing boats as the race went on. I don’t know for sure, but I would venture to guess that Chris only improved his position from the weather marks. This was the result of a deliberate “pick them off one at a time” mentality. It was a particularly good strategy when you know you have a speed edge.
So there you have it. Chris and Madeline are good sailors, sailing at the right weight. They tuned their boat really well and had a speed edge. They started conservatively, put themselves in the top group each race, and then used their speed to slowly pass boats. They were always in the top of the fleet, and quite frankly, their victory was one of the most impressive I’ve seen.
Whether you’re a Melges 15 sailor wondering how they did it, or you sail another type of boat, hopefully there was a nugget of information in my debrief that will help you as you approach your next big event.
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